Jack Schmidt converted to Catholicism about a decade ago and never learned Latin. But that’s the language he prefers for Mass.

“I really feel like I’ve been to Mass when I come to the Latin Mass,” the Irving man said.

Andrew Davis does know Latin and struggles in English to describe how much the traditional Latin Mass means to him.

“The liturgy is so beautiful and inspiring,” the Corinth college student said. “It’s something that really raises my heart and mind to God.”

For Schmidt, Davis and a few hundred other North Texas Catholics, this is a big day. Mater Dei Catholic Church, local home of the traditional Latin Mass, will be in its own sanctuary for the first time.

Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas will come to Irving this morning to bless a former Korean Methodist church building that had a $600,000 makeover to become Mater Dei’s worship space.

The location would seem unlikely for the only Diocese of Dallas church where Latin liturgy is the norm. Tractor-trailer trucks grind their gears on nearby East Highway 356. Neighbors include a Waffle House and a body shop.

But Mater Dei has doubled attendance to 600 at two Sunday Masses since buying the property last December and beginning to meet in the fellowship hall.

Mater Dei leaders believe the sanctuary will only boost the pace of growth.